wirepuller

See also: Wirepuller

English

Etymology

wire +‎ puller, suggesting the operator of a puppet; compare pull strings.

Noun

wirepuller (plural wirepullers)

1. A person who exercises an influence on others that is felt but not seen.
   • 1908, Winston Churchill, Letter to his fianceé Clementine:

     'Filled with old doddering peers, cute financial magnates, clever wirepullers, big brewers with bulbous noses. All the enemies of progress are there — weaklings, sleek, slug, comfortable, self-important individuals.

   • 1919, Foreign Affairs: A Monthly Digest and Interpretation:

     […] there lies, alas, the tragedy of the millions of lives immolated by the ignorant peoples as the price paid for the deception practised upon them by the Imperialistic wirepullers.